Question of the Day

Whose side of the story do you believe?

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The former boys basketball coach at an exclusive private school in Indianapolis was charged Thursday with trying to entice a 15-year-old female student into a sexual relationship, and court documents allege that school officials hampered the investigation.

Federal prosecutors filed the charges against Kyle Cox, who resigned Dec. 15 from Park Tudor after leading his team to state 2A championships in 2014 and 2015.

Cox didn’t speak about the charges against him during an initial court appearance Thursday, and neither he nor defense attorney James Voyles entered a plea on his behalf, The Indianapolis Star reported. Cox was in the custody of federal marshals. A detention hearing was scheduled for Monday, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Court documents allege the 31-year-old Cox began sending sexually explicit messages to the girl in September and tried to arrange for her to visit his home in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers for sexual activity while his wife and children were away in mid-December.

The meeting didn’t happen after the girl’s father saw messages and photos on her phone that she acknowledged trading with Cox, according to the criminal affidavit.

The girl’s father notified Park Tudor administrators about the messages on Dec. 14 and allowed his computer to be taken overnight so that screen shots and copies he made of the messages could be reviewed, the affidavit said.

A school administrator submitted a state report of suspected child abuse the next day, but the official told an Indianapolis police detective on Jan. 5 that all other information was given to the school’s attorney, who refused to provide the material to investigators, the affidavit said.

“The attorney advised that he felt Park Tudor had done everything that they needed to do,” the affidavit said. “He cited attorney/client privilege with his client, Park Tudor, in refusing to provide more information.”

Investigators said they learned from the attorney during a Jan. 7 search of the school that he had duplicated the computer contents and documents and obtained them that day.

The attorney isn’t identified in the court documents.

Park Tudor spokeswoman Cathy Chapelle said she couldn’t discuss how the school handled the allegations against Cox.

“While we are aware of the contents of the criminal complaint, it is not appropriate for us to comment on the specifics of an ongoing criminal matter,” she said in a statement. “We reported the allegations against Mr. Cox to Child Protective Services within 24 hours, and we are fully cooperating with the police investigation. The safety of our students continues to be our top priority.”

The school on the north side of Indianapolis is among the city’s most exclusive, with annual tuition of $20,170 for high school students. Park Tudor’s website touts a 100 percent college placement rate.

Park Tudor’s headmaster died Jan. 23 in what authorities said was a suicide. School officials sent a letter to parents two days later saying that law enforcement officials had assured them that the headmaster or other employees weren’t the subject of the Jan. 7 search.